Climbing to the next branch I heard a rip and my head jerked downward. A twig poking out of the trunk of the tree was pulling the sleeve of my sweater and I moved my arm away carefully. I could deal with the huge opening the twig tore into my sweater once I get my kite down from this tree. 

I held onto the branch on my right and behind the green leaves I could see my kite. Knowing it probably took me a while to get a few feet off the ground, I fought the urge to look down to view my progress. I'm not even afraid of heights but falling flat on the grass isn't something I want to deal with.

I pulled myself up to a sturdy looking branch and lifted my leg so my foot could rest there, pushing myself up high enough to reach my purple kite. I sighed in relief seeing that the pointy twigs and leaves hadn't torn up the kite like they did my favourite sweater just now.

Keeping my knees steady, I reached up for my kite but I nearly lost my balance and my hand clung onto the nearest branch I saw. Taking a breath I stretched my arm up higher in hopes of grabbing the tail of my kite to pull it down. How is it that a nineteen-year-old man like myself could get a kite stuck in a tree so easily? This is what I get for extending the string too far, letting it float away near a crowd of tall oak trees of all places it could have fluttered off to. Live and learn I suppose.

Pull-up training, don't fail me now, I thought as I hoisted myself up, or rather attempted to. Gosh I must look like an idiot climbing this obstacle course of a tree. I sighed in defeat and sat down on the branch my foot had been resting on, glancing up at the purple beacon waiting impatiently to be rescued from this ridiculous trap.

"Why is this so difficult?"

"Who are you talking to?" A mysterious voice caught my attention and my eyes darted around the area, startled. 

"Who said that?" I asked cautiously as if to myself. It certainly wasn't just me going crazy from clambering up this tree... right?

"Do you need help?" The voice chimed in again. Coming from behind the wide brown trunk. I tilted my head to one side, holding onto the branch above me to keep from falling.

"Who's there?"

"I am." At that moment, the small man that had produced that small voice revealed himself from behind the tree trunk. He had a rather shy smile on his face and his dark purple hair was perfectly symmetrical on his head, parted to one side. He wore a navy blue sweater and matching track pants with a pair of old looking sneakers on his feet. He seemed close to my age. Had he been here the entire time? 

"You look irritated," he said and swiftly swung to the branch across from me like it was nothing at all. "What's the matter?" I scanned my surroundings one more time to see if anyone would notice two grown men sitting in a tree like preschoolers. Area secure. Thank goodness.

"My kite is stuck up there and I'm having trouble getting it down," I said to the boy, pointing up at the purple splotch mixed with the green leaves bustling in the spring breeze.

I felt uncomfortable explaining this to him; it just seemed like something so small but hey, I've had that kite since I was a kid and this has never happened before, surprisingly.

"You don't look like a child," the boy chuckled slightly. "Aren't you too old to be flying a kite?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess I'm old school like that," I joked. "Can you help me get it down? I don't want it to rip."

"Of course, it's not too high up. You could be able to get it without it tearing."

"Well I'm kind of afraid of slipping and falling."

The boy giggled and slowly climbed up the tree, between each branch until my kite was at his eye level. It was like he floated up there like a bird, he did it effortlessly and I couldn't help but watch. I'm impressed.

He rested on an arm of the tree and his lean fingers gently pulled my kite from between the leaves, freeing it at last. 

"Got it," he said triumphantly as he lowered himself to the branch across from me and handed me the kite politely. "Here you go."

I was speechless when I took it from him and a most likely baffled look was glued onto my face. "How did you do that?" I laughed, still in awe by how he climbed up so gracefully.

"Do what?" he asked. "I retrieved your kite for you."

"Yeah, but you climbed up there without stumbling or anything. Are you a gymnast or an acrobat or something?"

"Something like that; I was happy to help you out."  His smile was friendly and contagious; the one on my face proved this statement. "Oh, your sweater is torn." 

Even though I know this already, I looked at the long line in my sleeve and sighed, thinking about how I have to sew this back up when I get home. "Yeah," I said. "My fault for climbing up here."

"It's not your fault." The boy managed to impress me again by maneuvering to sit beside me on my branch, which I hope wouldn't break bearing our weight. "If you hadn't gone out of your way to climb up here, I wouldn't have helped you retrieve your kite. I would have wondered who it belonged to and I wouldn't have seen you."

"You're right," I agreed. It was a tiny piece of wisdom but it sounded so insightful spoken in his friendly tone. "Hey, how long have you been up here anyway?"

"Not too long. I enjoy looking at the view from this height." He smiled serenely as he gazed over the open park, watching the trees and flowers swaying in the wind. "Relaxing, is it not?"

I followed his line of sight and immediately agreed. "Yeah, it is." 

It was a beautiful day for the middle of March and now that I have my kite back... "Since you helped me out, do you want to fly this thing with me? You know, where there won't be any trees for it to get trapped in."

"I'd love to," the boy cheered and gave me another infectious grin. "After that I can help you with your sweater. Do you need help getting down from here, too?" 

I let him carry my purple kite down as we both shimmied down the tree on opposite sides.This time around, I looked down from where I was and saw that I hadn't climbed that high in the first place, ten feet or so. "I think I'm good," I replied. "Thanks again for your help."

"That's what friends are for."

"Friends?" Wait a minute. I don't even know his name, do I?

The purple haired boy gave me a quick wink when we reached the ground and I was surprised when he took my hand and led me to the sunny clearing up ahead. "Friends help each other out."

He had the kite up in the air in record time. "If I get it stuck, you have to help me retrieve it, okay?" 

That works for me. He projected his voice over the loudening wind and laughed hysterically as the purple kite fluttered in the bright blue sky.

What a strange turn of events. There was something about this boy that made me think to myself as I watched him steer my kite to the left. His hair matched it almost exactly and for some reason, it brought back memories of when I would hang out in the park as a child with a good friend I used to have. When I stepped closer to him, we shared a smile and marveled at the playful aircraft. I haven't felt this nostalgic in months.

"Can I ask you something?" I said to him.

"Sure."

"Have we met before?"

His green eyes were sparkling like diamonds, familiar ones, and his skin was almost translucent in the sunlight. "Haven't we all?"